This
article is written in response to an article by Tricia Erickson, titled “Know
your enemy and call evil what it is,” which was published in Daily Courier of
Prescott, AZ, on Sunday, November 27, 2005.

The
above-mentioned article lacks basic knowledge about Islam as well as about war. Here
are some facts that may help readers understand Islam as well as the American
Empire wars.

The
Empire Wars

The term
“Empire” here refers to the US world-wide dominance, as a result of fighting
more than one war every year for the last 150 years.

The current
conflict between the United States and many Arab and Muslim countries has
intensified when American forces stayed in the Arabian Peninsula after the 1991
Gulf War. The US military presence in the Middle East has been perceived by the
people there as an invasion to subjugate the region to the American Empire.

One group, Al-Qaeda, fought back by attacking US forces in
Al-Khober, Saudi Arabia, US
Embassies in Uganda and Tanzania, and the World Trade Center in New York, for
the first time, all of which were in the 1990s, during Clinton’s term in office. The objective was to drive the US forces out of the Arabian Peninsula in
general, and out of Saudi Arabia, in particular.

Instead of
withdrawing its forces from the region, the US government maintained the US
military presence in the Middle East and extended it to the Central Asian
countries. It further started a global campaign against Al-Qaeda, which finally
attacked the US in September 11, 2001.

The US
government got the message and withdrew US forces from Saudi Arabia but to the
neighboring little Arab state of Qatar. Instead of leaving the Middle East, the
US government planned, invaded, and occupied Iraq. The announced reason for the
US war on Iraq was its alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction and its
alleged links with Al-Qaeda, both of which were refuted by the September 11
bipartisan Committee.

The real
reason for the US war on Iraq was the same reason for the US wars on Korea,
Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and other wars America launched in the last 150 years:
BUILDING, EXPANDING, and MAINTAINING the AMERICAN EMPIRE, in order for rulers of
the Empire to control the Planet’s major resources.

None of
these wars was launched for religious reasons. America did not launch them in
the name of Christianity, or to defend it, or to spread it. America did not
fight World War II, for example, to defend or spread Protestantism in Germany.
When America invaded Korea and Vietnam, there was no Buddhist or Confucian
threat to the US or to the World. Most obviously, when America invaded Grenada
and Panama, these little Catholic countries did not pose any threat to the US or
the world. Again, these wars were nothing other than BUILDING, EXPANDING, and
MAINTAINING the AMERICAN EMPIRE.

It follows
that any attempt to justify American Empire wars by blaming the invaded victims
and their belief systems represents lack of knowledge about history. America has
been doing what all previous Empires did. All empires (including ancient
Egyptian, Iraqi, Greek, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, Spaniard, Portuguese, Dutch,
French, British, and Soviet empires) were built and expanded by continuous wars
until exhaustion, then the fast collapse like we saw in the late 1980s when the
Soviet Empire collapsed. All of them got carried away with militarization, wars,
invasions, and occupation of other nations until they were stretched very thin
in forces and resources.

This is
exactly what’s happening to the American Empire right now, with about 700
military bases in 132 countries, its forces are being stretched very thin. With more than
$8 trillion of debt, as a result, its financial resources are also stretched
very thin. Unless there is a quick reversion by ending all wars abroad and by
bringing all US troops back home, the collapse may be coming, sooner than people
think.

Islam
and War

Neither
Islam (the name of the religion of God) nor Muslims (followers of Islam) are the
enemies of the United States. As pointed above, the conflict is not religious.
It follows that attempts to attack Islam and Muslims in order to justify the US
invasion of the Middle East represent lack of knowledge about Islam. All the
points she mentioned in the article were twisted to give a distorted view of
this great religion of God.

Islam is
peace of God to people and submission of people to their Creator’s will. It is
the religion of God, which He revealed to people throughout history, through His
messengers such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammed, peace and
blessings of God be upon all of them.

Islam only
allows war under very strict conditions and rules, which do not allow killing
of the innocents, whether civilians or captive soldiers. War is allowed to
defend one’s country against foreign invaders. It is not allowed as
transgression, i.e. invading lands of others. To say that Muslim men fight
invaders in order to be killed then go to Paradise where they have hundreds of
virgins is either ignorance or distortion and disinformation. Muslim men and
Muslim women are allowed by their religion to fight in defense of their homeland
against invaders.

Christians
and Jews are described in the Holy Qur’an as people of the Book, who are not to
be forced to convert to Islam. Just read the Holy Qur’an to see how the prophets
and messengers of God are revered, particularly Abraham, Moses, and Jesus
Christ. Here are few examples.

"Behold! The angels said: O
Mary ! God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name will be Christ
Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and in the Hereafter, and in
the company of those nearest to God." (Chapter 3, Verse 45).

"So peace is on me the day I
was born, the day I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life again."
(Chapter 19, Verse 33).

With regard
to polygamy, Islam provides humanity with a solution for the problem of
adultery. Instead of cheating (as in extra-marital affairs, the number one cause of
divorce in the US), Islam allows a man to marry more than one wife, with full
recognition of the rights of both of them. Further, instead of divorcing a sick or
infertile wife, a man can marry another woman while keeping the first (if she
chooses to stay with him) to take care of her. What’s wrong with that? In the case
of powerful men, like presidents (Clinton for example) and kings and Princes
(Charles for example), makes sense of this Islamic argument. However, polygamy is rarely
practiced among Muslims though it is allowed.

Finally,
the US is in dire need for peace with the Arab and Muslim worlds in order to end
this conflict as soon as possible. This distortion against Islam does not help
the US or the cause of peace at all. The “Permanent War” strategy has hurt the
US more than anybody else. The Empire concept is not smart. It’s too costly to
be upheld any further.

Let’s close all American military bases all over the
world and bring our troops home.

Let’s hope
that peace of God and His mercy touch us all and our world.

Merry
Christmas to Christians, happy Hanukah to Jews, happy new Islamic year to
Muslims, and peace for all people on Earth.